Suffering Makes You Stronger
by Poncho D
Summary: A traffic accident has major consequences for Kaoru and Aoi's fledgling marriage. ON HOLD until I can find some inspiration.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One 

Nighttime in the city of Tokyo looked like a glittering, otherworldly kind of day. Thousands of streetlights speckled the highways, like glowing green, orange, and blue jewels.

Sitting snugly in the driver's seat of the little sports car, Kaoru Hanabishi allowed himself a grin. Streetlights, headlights, and neon signs flashed past him as he drove the Tokyo highway at a stately one hundred twenty kilometers an hour. He was tempted to take a glance at the rather pretty dark-haired woman next to him, his wife.

_My wife_, Kaoru thought. He still could hardly believe it. Every time he said the words—_my wife, Aoi—_he was surprised to hear himself say them. It felt almost like a temporary situation, some sort of formality that would soon be revoked. But it wasn't, and knowing that still made him want to jump up and dance.

When he, Miss Miyabi, and Aoi-chan had decided to break their secret to the others, everyone was quite surprised. But, to his relief, there was no bitterness, resentment, or tears. Indeed, Tina had been thrilled over the news, offering her congratulations by way of a crushing (and rather embarrassing) hug.

And when Kaoru had explained that he and Aoi-chan would be leaving for a honeymoon in Florida, Tina had desperately wanted to come along, eager for a chance to visit her home country.

Kaoru had objected to that. Even though the intrusive, occasionally hyperactive blond had promised to stay well out of the couple's way—_I'll have my own room at another hotel; you won't even know I'm there, _she had promised—it still bugged him, just on principle.

But Aoi-chan had asked him, in the gentle way that he could never say no to, to let Tina come. _It won't cause any harm, and couples do it all the time._

And so, Tina was behind them now, in her big, beat-up Pontiac, following them home from the airport.

Next to him, Aoi-chan blinked and stretched her arms. "It will certainly feel good to be home," she said. "We had a great time, Kaoru-sama, but I can't wait to be back in my own bed."

_Our bed, _he thought with a smile, recalling a honeymoon night that had been nothing short of explosive. "Bed?" he laughed. "I'm glad just to be back in my own country! You're right though, I'm looking forward to getting back, too."

He saw her shift a little in the seat. _Still sore? _he wondered. On their first full day in the States, Aoi-chan had wanted to go to the beach. Kaoru was game for the idea, but became concerned when he saw her clad in her favorite skimpy little bikini. Not that he minded the way she looked—he didn't mind that at all!—but he was worried for her sake. He had tried to explain to her that Florida was not Japan; that the cool, wet climate they were both used to just didn't exist in Miami. But Kaoru's beautiful little wife was not only gentle as a summer breeze; she was stubborn as an ox.

When they had returned to their hotel room that evening, she was so badly sunburned that they couldn't make love; she flinched every time he touched her. He had to settle for rubbing the soothing lotion all over her back and legs, which, he though with a blush, was still pretty interesting.

They were coming to an intersection, and Kaoru gently pressed the brake as the light turned red.

"KAORU, LOOK OUT!" Aoi shouted, startling him. He barely had time to jerk his head around to his right and see the blinding headlights of the other vehicle barreling toward them, before his world exploded with light and noise, and then went black and silent.

-

He opened his eyes to find himself sitting on the median, cars and flashing lights all around him. Tina was sitting next to him, her arm around his back, supporting him.

"Wha…what happened?" he asked, dumfounded. "Aoi-chan?"

Tina shook her head. "They…took her, Kaoru. She'll probably be at the hospital by now. Somebody broad-sided you at the intersection," she recounted angrily. "I saw the whole thing. Looked to me like he was trying to beat a yellow light. I think the cops are questioning him now."

Kaoru looked over to his left to see a rough-looking long-haired young man conversing with two police officers. He quickly looked away again; the flashing red and blue lights made his eyes hurt.

"What about…"

"Miss Aoi?" Tina finished for him. She paused, rubbing her weary eyes. "She…didn't look too good, Kaoru. I'm sorry, I don't mean to scare you, but I just don't know."

Kaoru leapt to his feet in a flash, but the sudden drop in his drop in his blood pressure made him quickly sit down again, head in his hands. "We have to get to the hospital, Tina-chan. Come on, let's get out of here!"

She shook her head. "We can't, until they take our statements. If we leave now, we could both be arrested." She gently stroked his shoulder. "Just wait, Kaoru. Everything's gonna be okay, alright?" Her words seemed to sooth him a little.

A few minutes later, Tina watched as Kaoru gave his statement to the police, stumbling over his words. _He's in shock, _she thought. Tina was no doctor, but she knew his mind must be whirling.

The policeman Kaoru was talking to jotted down a few more notes. "Alright, thank you, Hanabi—

Kaoru was up and running before the man could even finish his sentence.

"Come on, Tina-chan, let's go!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

Miyabi Kagurazaki gave a long sigh, and pushed her chair back from her desk, closing her eyes. How nice it would be to just turn off the little lamp next to her computer, and spend a few lovely minutes dozing in the dark.

But she knew it wouldn't do. At best, Taeko would wake her with her well-meaning clumsiness, despite everyone having been told that, short of the house collapsing or a Russian invasion, Miyabi-san was not to be disturbed. At worst, she would sleep too long, and wake to see the morning sunlight peeping through the trees outside her office window, as the board meeting proceeded without her.

It was like some sort of conspiracy, she thought. It seemed as if some gang of mischievous little imps had taken control of her life, and were determined to prevent her from finishing this report by the eight-o'clock deadline tomorrow.

First, she had foolishly allowed Taeko to use her computer. Well, actually she had allowed the more sensible Chika to use it for a little Solitaire whilst Miyabi took a break, and Chika had in turn allowed Taeko to do a little surfing on the Internet. Miyabi had returned to find her entire document erased. That two-left-footed, three-right-thumbed excuse for a maid had _accidentally _closed the word processing program, automatic backups and all, despite the numerous safeguards intended to prevent such a disaster.

With a sigh of resignation, Miyabi had refrained from murdering the clumsy, bespectacled redhead, and started the report over. This time, she had instituted a temporarily password-protected screen saver that still would still not stop well-meaning but technologically challenged Taeko from _accidentally_ rebooting the machine.

She had been about a quarter of the way into her second attempt at the report when the phone rang. Had it been some telephone salesman (the confounded devils were as common in Japan as they were in America), she could simply have hung up the phone and returned to her task.

But it was not to be. The caller had been a beau whom the others knew nothing about, and Miyabi could not put him off, however gently, without losing some points with him. So she had talked, losing over an hour of precious time before he had finally hung up.

Presently, she looked at her watch: eleven-thirty. She was now about three-quarters of the way though the document, and looking forward to going to bed, as soon as she saved this blasted thing to the hard drive, a floppy disk, and all three of her Flash Drives, and burned it on to a CD or three.

The phone rang. Miyabi waited for the second ring, hoping that Chika or Taeko would take the call in the kitchen, and that the latter would actually pay attention and _write down _any important messages if she happened to get there first without falling on her face.

Alas, the second ring came, and Miyabi did not wait for the third.

"Sakuraba residence," she rapped out, her tone making it very clear to whoever was on the other end that this had better be important.

"Tina-san?" Miyabi said, surprised. "Where are you? Is everything all right…oh my. Is she…oh, thank goodness! I feared the worst…and Sir Kaoru? Yes…I see…yes, Tina-san, we'll be there as soon as we can…yes…you too. _Sayonara._" With that she hung up the phone, leapt out of the chair, and grabbed her coat. "Taeko-chan! Chika-chan!"

Both girls quickly appeared in the doorway, the former stumbling a little over the latter.

"There has been an accident. We have to go to the hospital in Tokyo right away."

-

Tina snapped her cell phone shut and sat down next to Kaoru. "They're on the way," she reported.

They were in the waiting room of the hospital, surrounded by comfortable brown leather chairs, pristine, well-decorated walls and floors, and cable TV, currently tuned to CNN. The news, Tina saw, was the usual rant about politics, economics, and the weather.

The other people in the lobby—some obviously family members of the patients, some probably prospective patients themselves—talked to one another in hushed tones, creating a background noise level that was relatively quiet, but still somehow added to the tension in the room.

Kaoru still had not responded to her statement. Tina understood. He wasn't ignoring her; he just had other things on his mind. She watched him carefully. The medics had stitched up an ugly cut above his left eye which, miraculously, was his only injury.

So far, he seemed to be holding up, but just barely. _Poor guy, _she thought. _He hasn't said a word since we got here. He's just been sitting there, staring into space._

Tina and Kaoru had actually beaten the ambulance to the hospital. When the big vehicle pulled up, she had watched as the paramedics maneuvered Miss Aoi on to a gurney and hustled her off to the E.R.

That was about fifteen minutes ago. No doubt her friend was in surgery by now, and neither Tina nor Kaoru would see her again for at least two or three hours.

"Listen, Kaoru," she said gently. "I know it must be the last thing on your mind right now, but you need something to eat, and you need to get some rest. The docs won't have anything to tell us for at least a couple hours yet, and you won't do that girl of yours one bit of good sitting here worrying."

The revolving doors of the waiting room jangled, and Tina stood and turned to see Miss Miyabi, Taeko, and Chika entering. She walked over and pulled Miss Miyabi aside for a brief conference. When Tina seemed finished, Miss Miyabi walked over to Kaoru and sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Kaoru turned and looked at her, and then Tina's eyes widened as she saw Miss Miyabi do something Miss Miyabi _never _did. She put out her arms and embraced Kaoru, who shamelessly buried his face in her shoulder as she held him.

"Boy," Tina whispered to Taeko, "he's a bigger soul than I am, that's for damn sure!"

-

The cafeteria was nearly empty; few people had any desire to eat this late at night. Kaoru sat at a table with his friends, staring at the polished surface. Miss Miyabi had placed a plate full of food in front of him, which he had barely touched. _Tina called it, _he thought. _Eating is definitely the last thing I feel like doing right now._

"It happened so fast," he whispered, "like being struck by lightning. If I had hit the brakes just half a second sooner—

"Now don't you start that!" Tina scolded him. "This is not your—

Miyabi held up a hand, gently silencing her. Tina, Taeko, and Chika had a sort of unspoken agreement to let their resident rock of wisdom and common sense do all the talking.

"Sir Kaoru, look at me," she commanded. Kaoru turned and looked into a pair of deep brown eyes. Miyabi-san wore a sympathetic look that seemed so out of place on her normally merciless, professional face. "Tina-san is right," she told him. "You were not responsible for the accident, or for Lady Aoi being hurt. What happened out there tonight could just as easily have happened to anyone else, including myself."

"But that's the problem," he lamented. "I wish it _was _my fault, Miss Miyabi! If only it had been because of some stupid thing that I did, then I could at least do better next time, and make sure this never happens again."

"And live with the guilt for the rest of your life?" she countered. "That is very noble of you, Sir Kaoru, but it isn't very healthy, for you or Lady Aoi." She gestured to his relatively unscathed plate. "You should eat now."

-

It took about three hours. Kaoru looked up when the doctor entered the cafeteria. The man was tall, thin, and dour-looking, with dark skin and a pencil mustache. He drew a pen from the pocket of his white coat, and jotted some notes on the clipboard in his other hand.

"_Hanabishi Kaoru?" _he asked in clipped, professional tone.

"_Hai." _Kaoru replied. He stood and bowed awkwardly. "That's me."

"Very well, Hanabishi-san. Come with me, please. These are your family?" He gestured at the others.

"They are my friends, and I live with them, but I think of them as family," Kaoru stated proudly. These women were the only real family he had ever known.

The doctor appeared to consider that for a moment. "I see," he said with a nod. "However, I think it should be next-of-kin only for right now." With that, he stepped aside, and gestured to the door.

"Stay here, guys," Kaoru told them. "I'll be back in a minute."

-

He followed the doctor through what seemed like miles of spotless, white corridors, occasionally broken by beige wood-finished doors bearing legends like "Private", "Conference Room", or "Equipment." Some of the doors were open, and inside, Kaoru could see computers and life support machines of various kinds, their lights winking dutifully as they mindlessly performed their tasks, or awaited orders. He wondered if Aoi-chan had briefly been attached to any of those machines.

The doctor turned right and entered a room Kaoru realized was an office. It was cramped and Spartan, as sterile as the hallways outside. A large chair stood behind the desk, a smaller one in the near corner. The nameplate on the desk read "Kawamoto Ishimo."

The morose-looking man took a seat behind the desk as Kaoru pulled the other chair over. "I have good news and bad news," he stated plainly when his guest was seated.

Kaoru's head came up at that. If there was any good news at all, then that meant…

"She's alive?" he asked, voice full of anticipation. Of what exactly, he wasn't entirely sure.

"Very much so," Doctor Kawamoto affirmed. "And in quite a hurry to see you, I might add." He always enjoyed seeing the intense relief on family members' faces when he was able to tell them that a loved one was still with them; he considered it part of his professional pride.

Kaoru nearly wept with relief; he had honestly feared that Aoi-chan might not make it. Even now, he couldn't bring himself to say that his wife might have died. "How is she?" he asked, his spirits finally starting to lift.

"Well," Kawamoto began, "The emergency room staff stabilized her very quickly, and the surgeons stopped the internal bleeding. Overall, the surgery went quite well, but…not as well as we hoped for."

_Now for the bad news, _Kaoru thought. "How bad?" he asked, holding his breath.

The doctor handed him some X-ray films that had been lying on the desk, but Kaoru couldn't interpret them; he was no doctor.

"We did everything we could, but…the damage to her spine was severe. There were multiple fractured vertebrae, with consequent damage to the spinal cord." Kawamoto paused a moment, then translated: "Her back is broken."

Oh God, Kaoru thought. It was a wonder she _hadn't_ died. "How long will it take her to heal?" he asked. "Do you think she might…get back on her feet? Maybe in a month or two?"

Doctor Kawamoto sighed. "Hanabishi-san, I'm afraid you don't understand the implications. Your wife is very badly hurt. You see, the spinal cord is the body's connection to the brain," he explained. "With the…wires frayed, so to speak, she has lost all mobility and sensation in her legs. Not to mention bowel control, reproduction…"

"She's _paralyzed?_" Kaoru whispered, fingers over his lips.

The doctor nodded. "From the waist down. I am very sorry, Hanabishi-san. I understand you are newlyweds?"

Kaoru didn't respond. He just sat there, staring into space like he had in the lobby. _Aoi-chan…in a wheel chair, _he thought. _Of all the things…_

"Now then," Doctor Kawamoto continued. "There's more. There are…things we can do. Procedures." He paused, then shook his head. "But we can talk about that later. Right now, she's very much looking forward to seeing you, and I am sure the feeling is mutual."

It was.

-

When Kaoru entered Aoi-chan's cubicle in the intensive care unit, his eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he gulped to keep from choking up. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Hello, Kaoru-sama," she greeted him with a rather sad smile.

"Aoi-chan!" he yelped. "You—your hair!"

She lay in the little bed, the neck of her hospital gown just visible beneath the coverlet. The I.V. machine stood stolidly next to the bed, like the faithful robotic sentry it was, it's needle inserted fully into her right arm. She turned her head slowly, and looked at him.

Her pretty face was bruised and scratched, and she had an evil-looking shiner around her right eye.

And she was bald as a goose.

"For the stitches," she explained when she saw the look on his face, running a hand over her bare scalp. "The cuts were pretty deep, almost a quarter of an inch, but at least they didn't reach my skull."

"Aoi-chan…" Kaoru choked, "…God, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be," she said comfortingly, placing her hand on his. "You did nothing wrong, Kaoru-sama."

His brown eyes started to tear up. "Aoi-chan, the doctors…"

"I know, Kaoru-sama," she interrupted. She turned her head to look at the ceiling. "But it really changes very little. I know I won't be washing dishes anymore, but I can still do the laundry, and cook meals, and maybe even mop the floors. It would all be very difficult, but I can still do it," she insisted. "I may be sitting for a very long time, but I am still the same woman you married."

"I know that," he whispered, reaching out to hold her hand. "I married _all _of you, Aoi-chan. For better or worse, no matter what. And I'm not in love with your legs." He gave a strange sort of half-chuckle, and added "Or your hair," stroking her naked head.

She giggled at his half-hearted attempt at a joke, and at that moment Kaoru thought he and Aoi-chan must be the two strongest people on Planet Earth to actually laugh at a time like this.


	3. Chapter 3

_Welcome back! So far, this next chapter is my longest one, and it will probably stay that way. Warning: parts of this are very emotional and are going to be hard to read. Aoi is home now, and she and Kaoru will deal with the first of many problems that her paralysis will bring into their marriage. There will also be a strengthening of the platonic bonds between Kaoru and Tina. Here we go…_ Chapter Three 

Aoi's hospital stay lasted six days, during which Kaoru and the others showered her with gifts, cards, balloons, and well wishes. Her hair was starting to grow back; she sported a thin layer of "peach-fuzz" on top of her head, which Tina called "a nice buzz-cut."

On the day she was to be released, Tina, Taeko, and Chika stayed at the house to clean things up in preparation for her arrival, while Kaoru and Miyabi went to fetch her.

Taeko gasped when her friend came rolling through the front door of the mansion in a shiny new wheel chair, pushed by Kaoru-senpai, with Miyabi-san following closely. The others had told her very little; Taeko could only assume they didn't want to scare her. All Miyabi-san had told her at first was that there had been a car accident, and that Aoi-san was badly injured and would spend at least several days in the hospital; she had refused to say exactly what kind of injuries were involved.

"W—Welcome home, Ooy—er, Aoi-san," Taeko said, trying to smile, her delight at having Aoi-san back home tempered by the sight of her in what was obviously a very permanent condition.

"Thank you," Aoi-san beamed. "It's good to be back, though I do wish it was under better circumstances," she laughed.

"Ahem."

All eyes turned to Miyabi-san. The severe-looking woman spoke when all was quiet.

"I would like for all of you to sit at the table, please. I think we need to have a discussion, as there will obviously have to be some changes."

They gathered at the table in the enormous dining room. When everyone was seated, she began. "I apologize for not telling you all the whole story right from the start, but I didn't want anyone to worry or be frightened. I can assure you, Sir Kaoru was worried enough for all of us."

Taeko suppressed a titter at the comment, and realized she was shocked at herself. _Why did I almost laugh? _she asked herself. _This isn't funny!_

"How long will it take for your legs to heal?" Chika-chan asked Aoi-san innocently.

Miyabi-san shook her head. "That is the problem, I'm afraid. Lady Aoi's legs are not broken. Her back is."

"But, then why…?" Chika gasped when she realized the answer.

"I'm afraid Lady Aoi is going to be in that chair for a very long time." Miyabi-san paused to let the news sink in. "Possibly for the rest of her life."

Taeko's stomach sank, and Chika's hand went slowly to her mouth. "Aoi-san…" she whispered, her chocolate eyes starting to tear up.

"Miyabi-san, may I say something?" Aoi-san's quiet voice interjected.

A nod. She turned to the others.

"Everyone, please don't be worried. I might have a harder time getting around now, but I am still the same person I was before the accident. Only shorter."

This time, there were some giggles, and Taeko joined in too. She felt more secure about it now that she had heard Aoi-san joke about her situation herself.

"And with a nice haircut," Tina added, rubbing Aoi's fuzzy scalp.

"I do not want any special treatment from anyone, but above all else, I do not want any of you to feel sorry for me," Aoi-san insisted. "As I said, aside from moving about a little slower, nothing has changed about me."

Miyabi-san gave a light cough, and took over the meeting once again.

"Very well," she said, shooting a rather strange look at Aoi-san. "Now then. Sir Kaoru and Tina-san, you are physically the strongest ones here, so I will leave you in charge of setting up ramps and hand rails. I will deal the…ahh…other issues myself.

"Other issues?" Taeko asked. What could Miyabi-san mean by that?

"Yes, Taeko-chan, you heard me correctly. You may all return to your business." She lowered her voice slightly. "Aoi-sama? A private word, please?"

-

"What do you mean by this?" Miyabi demanded sharply.

"By what, Miyabi-san?" Aoi replied quietly, her back to her caretaker and friend, her gaze focused on the beautiful spring day outside the window. "Telling them that nothing's changed, or that I do not wish for their pity?"

They sat alone in the dining room, which had gone silent after the others left, and even more tense.

"Both!" Miyabi replied angrily. "But the former even more so. Aoi-sama, you are a proud woman. So am I; I understand your feelings. But to simply pretend that nothing has happened, like all this will just go away—

"I never said that!" Aoi snapped, turning her chair around to face Miyabi, her blue eyes burning with anger. "Miyabi-san, I am a paraplegic, not a fool. You think I don't understand what has happened to me? I will probably spend the rest of my life in this blasted thing." She slapped the arm of the wheel chair. "But there is much to be done, that I can still do. Do you expect me to just lie down and die?" She shook her head. "If I can possibly help it, then I am determined that this chair will be no more than a part of my life, not my life itself."

To her surprise, Miyabi-san's anger vanished. She stepped forward and took Aoi's hand. "I am not asking you to give up hope, Aoi-sama. To know the size of what you are facing, and stare it in the face without fear takes either incredible courage, or out-right stupidity." She pulled a chair over and sat down, looking Aoi right in the eyes. "And I believe you just said it yourself: you are no fool." She paused. "The others will want to help you, Aoi-sama, especially Sir Kaoru. Please let them."

"I understand," Aoi whispered, looking at the floor. She truly regretted yelling at Miss Miyabi, especially considering that she was probably the only person in the house who could do so and get away with it.

-

Kaoru whacked a stubborn nail with his hammer a few more times, forcing it snugly in place against the wood.

"Whew!" he breathed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Tina tossed him one of the two beers she was carrying, and he caught it deftly. "It must be in the thirties out here!" he said, popping the tab.

His erstwhile helper gave him a puzzled look.

"Uhhh, nineties," he corrected himself.

Tina realized her mistake, and rolled her eyes. "Stupid metric system," she muttered.

"Well, it's harder for me to make the switch than it is for you," he reminded her. "But at least we made good time getting this thing done." He gestured at their little project.

It was mostly Tina's idea. Kaoru had just wanted to lay in place a simple plywood ramp over the front steps for Aoi-chan, maybe with some rubber matting for traction, so she wouldn't roll down too fast. But Tina wasn't about to leave it at that. _Come on, why not spruce it up? Make it a little better?_

Because I just want it over with, he thought. If I know Aoi-chan, she won't want us devoting any more energy to this kind of stuff than we absolutely have to.

But his stubborn American friend had won out in the end, and now, looking at their handiwork, he decided that she had won the hearts-and-minds battle, too. He had to agree with her that their idea was pretty clever.

After cutting a piece of plywood the right size, and laying it over the steps, he had taken an old door hinge from his toolbox and nailed one end to the board, and the other to the house. They now had a moveable ramp, so that the others could use the steps if they wished, courteously lowering the ramp back in place when they were done. Tina had even attached a small strap made from an old shoe lace, to be hung over a little coat hook she had nailed into the wall, so the ramp could held in the upright position.

"Ummm…listen," Tina began, not sure how to broach the subject that was on her mind. "Kaoru, are you gonna be okay? I mean, all that stuff Miss Aoi said about nothing changing; you know that's bullshit, right?"

Kaoru decided not to get angry with her for her rather uncouth way of putting it; she meant no harm.

"The way you guys took it, yeah, it would be," he responded quietly, looking up at the sky. "But I don't think that was what she meant. I think she just doesn't want us going out of our way for her, you know. Aoi-chan knows when to ask for help."

Tina was silent for a few seconds. "You know, I knew you two were a couple before the big announcement."

Kaoru's eyes went wide, and he turned to her. He _hadn't_ known. "How did you find out?"

"You talk in your sleep, silly!" she laughed. "Okay, so I shouldn't have been in your room while you were sleeping, but I figured I was leaving for good, and I just wanted to say goodbye. But when you whispered her name like that, I…good grief. I didn't know what to think. I was disappointed and jealous, but I wanted so bad to be happy for you. You pick 'em well, Kaoru." She decided not to tell him the rest of that little story. "Besides, looking back, I figure I must be a real idiot to have missed it. It was so incredibly obvious."

Kaoru laughed. Now that he thought about it, it _was _obvious. All those times the two of them had disappeared from the house, to be alone for a while? At that rate, how could any of the girls have not put it together? "You're really something, Tina, you know that?" he laughed, patting her on the back.

At that point, Tina decided that maybe she was better off just being friends with her old crush. No pressure, no complications. Just good old-fashioned friendship and respect.

"Always," she replied, holding out her beer. They clicked their cans together, and drank up.

-

That night, after dinner, Kaoru went to their room to turn down the sheets, Aoi rolling along beside him. When he was finished, he turned to her. "Alright, up you come."

She obeyed, lifting her arms slightly, and he wrapped one arm under her bottom and one around her midsection, and lifted her from the chair.

She was light to carry, and he rather enjoyed the sensation of her arms around his neck.

He laid her in the futon, undressed down to his boxers, and got in next to her. She gently pressed her face against his chest, and giggled. "That was actually fun," she laughed. "It felt a little like being carried over the threshold."

An American tradition, Kaoru thought. "You've been hanging around Tina too much," he joked, poking her in the stomach.

She did not respond, and his heart sank when he saw her eyes tearing up. "Aoi-chan? What's the matter?"

She didn't sob or sniffle when she spoke, but tears continued to run down her face. "I am so sorry all of this happened, Kaoru-sama. You must feel so…cheated."

"What?" He tilted her face up to look into her eyes. "No! Aoi-chan, you could have _died. _I feel so blessed that we still have each other." He stroked a finger over her cheek, wiping away a trail of wetness. "We already talked about this. I love _all _of you, Aoi-chan, no matter what. Now, if you had died on me, then I might have felt cheated, but even then it would still be selfish and wrong of me to feel that way."

Aoi couldn't believe her good fortune. To have ever met someone like Kaoru-sama in the first place was a miracle in itself, but to think that even her being crippled couldn't tear them apart? She felt almost invincible.

"Kaoru-sama?" she asked, reaching up a hand to stroke his cheek. "I…want you."

Kaoru was completely nonplussed. How could she possibly…? "What? Aoi-chan, are you sure?" he asked in that odd manner of his; quiet and even, yet almost as if he were laughing.

She responded by reaching up and tugging on the string hanging from the ceiling, turning the lights out. She placed one small hand on the back of his head, and drew him in for the first kiss.

It was soft, gentle, and sweet, and Kaoru found himself quickly aroused. Aoi-chan broke the kiss momentarily. "Do you remember the first time we made love?" she whispered against his face.

He did. It hadn't been on their honeymoon, but in a luxurious hotel room in Tokyo, on a summer night nearly a year ago. Afterwards, he had felt terribly guilty for breaking Miss Miyabi's trust, but he decided not to focus on that now.

"How could I forget?" he laughed softly, sliding her yukata back to reveal her bare shoulders. He drew her closer and kissed the soft skin, enjoying her scent, and trailed kisses up her neck. "You were incredible!" he whispered against her.

She drew away from him a little, her hands on his chest. "I was whole then," she said, looking into his brown eyes. "I know things are different now, but I want to hold on to as much as I can, Kaoru-sama. I _have _to."

"We will, Aoi-chan," he promised. With that, he slipped her robe the rest of the way off, helped her remove his boxers, and moved over her. He entered her slowly, and she clung to his back as he moved inside her. When it was over, he held her and let her fall asleep in his arms, glad that she couldn't see his own tears.

-

Oil sizzled and popped in the frying pan as eggs bubbled up to a golden-brown perfection. Miyabi sprinkled salt and pepper neatly over them, and tossed in some onions, chopped sausage, and grated cheese, humming quietly to herself as she cooked. She slid the spatula smoothly under one side of the omlet and flipped it closed, then drew two more eggs from the carton for the next one.

Miyabi hadn't expected to enjoy it at all, let alone this much. Lady Aoi normally did the cooking, but she could hardly be expected to now. Tina-chan and Taeko-chan were absolutely out of the question, the latter in particular; one could hardly cook if there were no kitchen left to cook in. Chika-chan wasn't a bad cook, but she also was still asleep.

That left only Miyabi herself and Sir Kaoru, and everyone's favorite "tenant" was nowhere to be found at the moment. Miyabi had done a little cooking before, but only lightly, and had never found it very interesting until now. Eggs and bacon sizzling in the pan, the soft gurgle of the coffee maker, the lovely aromas of breakfast; she found the atmosphere of the kitchen in action very peaceful—so long as there was only one cook there at a time—and there were few things Miyabi enjoyed more than peace and quiet.

Thump.

She lowered the flame on the gas burner, and looked in the direction of the sound. She waited for a moment, thinking perhaps it was her imagination.

Thump.

No, the sound was quite real. She turned the range off entirely and stepped out onto the walkway that connected the main house to the guest cottage where Sir Kaoru, and now Lady Aoi, lived.

She looked to her left, and shook her head. There he was, hacking away at an old log with an axe.

On the surface, it seemed a perfectly mundane chore, not out of the ordinary at all. But Miyabi knew men well enough to know that there was only one reason a man would be chopping firewood in the middle of spring.

She made her way down the steps and approached him carefully. After allowing him one more stroke with the axe, she put her hand on his shoulder. He lowered the blade and turned to her. "Miss Miyabi," he greeted cheerfully enough. "What's up?"

"Nothing," she half-lied. "I just wondered where you were." She gestured to the chewed-up log. "What is this for, if you don't mind my asking?"

Sir Kaoru shrugged, looking at the ground. "You never know. Guess I just wanted to be prepared. Besides, firelight is pretty romantic." He said it with a mischievous smirk, looking at her once again. It was a more convincing fake than his last attempt, but she still didn't buy it.

Miyabi sat down on one end of the log, and patted the other. Sir Kaoru obediently sat next to her. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't wish to," she reminded him. "But I promise it will help a lot." She looked straight into his eyes with her famously fearsome brown stare. "What happened, Sir Kaoru?" It was both a question and a command.

His façade collapsed, and the tears started. "Last night, Aoi-chan and I…we tried to…she didn't feel a thing, Miss Miyabi." He stared at the ground, shaking his head.

"I don't think that is true," she countered softly.

He looked at her blankly; the puzzlement on his face was clearly notfake.

She sighed. "Sir Kaoru, I am going to tell you something you will be very surprised to hear. Very few men are privileged to know this, so take it to heart, and use it wisely."

She paused to make sure he was paying attention, and continued. "Sex, Sir Kaoru, is not about pleasure."

That was her bombshell of wisdom? Kaoru wondered. What in the heck was that supposed to mean?

She read him easily, and explained. "Imagine if it were you, Sir Kaoru. What would you do in her place?"

Kaoru shrugged. This conversation was becoming very awkward. "Try to…make it all about her, I guess…make it all about her pleasure. But how I am supposed to do that when—

"You're not," Miyabi interrupted. "But that is a very good answer. You see, that is what Lady Aoi wants to do for you. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered at all. You are a man, Sir Kaoru; sex is physical for you. That's not a bad thing; it's the way you're made. But for a woman, especially a woman like Lady Aoi, it's an _emotional_ experience. Do you understand now?"

He did. Her explanation made so much more sense, he reflected, when she just _said _it instead of trying to be cryptic.

"And I'll tell you something else," Miyabi added, putting an arm about his shoulders. "I have long since stopped despising you the way I did when we met, but until today, I never understood just how wrong I was about you. How many other men would have simply been glad to be getting what _they _wanted? You, Sir Kaoru, are a _real _man."

With that, she released him and stood. "Now let's go have some breakfast."

"Yeah," Kaoru added with a laugh, his tears long-since dried, "and some more comfortable conversation!"

-

Miss Miyabi had quite a spread prepared for them, Kaoru saw. There was American fare for those who wanted it (namely Tina) at one end of the table; eggs and bacon, sausage and pancakes; at the other end was more traditional cuisine; fish and fried rice, and even an okonomiyaki plate.

"Wow," Kaoru marveled, taking Aoi-chan's hand as she rolled up next to him, "This all looks great, Miss Miyabi!"

"Well," Miyabi demurred, trying to keep her usual straight face at such a compliment, "I was up very early this morning, and I had some extra time, so I decided to make use of it."

"Man," Tina put in, mumbling around a mouthful of omlet, "if this is your way of killing time, I wish you would get bored more often!"

Silence fell, and all eyes turned to Tina.

"What?" she asked, seeing the looks that greeted the rather odd remark.

Miyabi decided to let her off the hook for now. "Ahem…er, I'll take that as a compliment, Tina-san. Thank you, I'm glad you are enjoying it. Sir Kaoru," she said, turning to him, glad for the chance to change the subject. "I called the insurance company last night after you went to bed."

"Oh, boy," Kaoru muttered, shaking his head. "How bad is the news?"

"Better than I expected, actually," she said lightly. "The car was totaled, I'm afraid, but the adjuster was quite the reasonable sort. I don't think you'll be without a vehicle for very long.

_I'll be trading down, _Kaoru thought. Any sort of vehicle was better than walking, of course, but it hurt to lose that car. The little cherry-red Mazda coupe had been a graduation present from all the girls.

"Wow!" Chika-chan piped up, "Are they gonna give you a new car, onii-chan?"

"Not exactly," he explained to the little girl he thought of as a sister. "They'll pay off some of the old one, and maybe make some of the down-payment on a new one, but we won't actually see any of the money."

"I think you should get a truck," Aoi-chan put in. "They're very manly," she added with a giggle.

Miyabi decided to break in before anyone came up with any hare-brained ideas. "I think we should let Sir Kaoru decide for…" She trailed off.

"Miss Manager?" Taeko asked. "What's the matter? Are you alright?"

"Ummm, err, Lady Aoi…" Miss Miyabi was looking down at the seat of Aoi's wheel chair as if it might suddenly come to life and attack her.

"Yeah, what's that smell?" Tina asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

Her derisive question brought the answer home to Kaoru. _Oh, no._

He glanced down at Aoi-chan's lower body, and sure enough, the fabric of her kimono had darkened, and he could see wetness seeping out from beneath her.

Judging by the look on her face, she had to have seen it too, he thought, even though she couldn't feel it. Aoi-chan was famous for her ability to hide her emotions around others, but Kaoru, knowing her the way he did, could tell she was close to tears.

The four pairs of staring eyes finally got to Kaoru, and he leapt out of his seat. "What are you all gawking at?" he demanded angrily. "_She can't help it!!"_

"Sir Kaoru!" Miyabi rebuked sharply. But for the first time, her anger had no effect on him.

He ignored her. "Come on, Aoi-chan," he said softly. He got behind her, and quickly wheeled her out of the dining room.

-

The bathroom was cold, but Kaoru was past caring. Aoi-chan had not said a single word on the way, and remained silent as he sat down on the closed lid of the toilet, lifted her from the chair, and gently laid her on her stomach across his knees. He quickly divested her of her sodden kimono and panties, and took a hand towel from the rack near the toilet.

Feeling more awkward than he ever had in his life, Kaoru wet the towel from the sink faucet and proceeded to wipe the sticky urine off of Aoi-chan's rear end and groin, working his way down the back of her thighs. As he cleaned her, he fought like mad to hold back tears. His reflections led him to questions he never thought he would ask himself. What if this happened again? If Aoi-chan couldn't control her bowels, she would obviously have to wear a diaper. What would that do to her self-esteem? How on earth had his marriage come to this?

Kaoru wished more than anything else that he could take his wife's place right now, despite the fact that, unless it were to save her from this misery, he would rather be dead that experience that kind of humiliation.

Aoi-chan was clean now. He lifted her from his lap and, not knowing what else to do, laid her on her stomach on the cold tile of the floor and left the bathroom to fetch a change of clothes for her.

When he returned, he could hear wracking sobs before he reached the bathroom door. He walked in, got down on his knees and held her. For Kaoru, the dam finally broke, and he wept with her.

-

The rest of the day was uneventful, though an awkward silence hung in the air. Kaoru did speak briefly to Miss Miyabi, mostly about money: medical bills, various kinds of insurance and, if worse came to worst, court proceedings. The others mostly stayed out of sight, afraid to face him.

Though, in all honesty, he didn't blame the girls for keeping their distance, Kaoru truly regretted yelling at them. It was only natural for them to be shocked at such an incident; the possibility hadn't occurred even to him until this morning, let alone Tina, Taeko-chan, and Chika-chan.

It was late at night now, and Kaoru encountered Tina as he rolled Aoi-chan down the walkway to the guest cottage.

"Turning in for the night?" she asked.

"I was about to," he answered as casually as he could manage, "but I think I might have a few more minutes in me. Do you mind, Aoi-chan?"

"I can wait," Aoi-chan replied laconically.

_He wants to talk, _Tina realized. _Oh, crap._

After putting Aoi-chan to bed, Kaoru returned to the walkway to find, much to his relief, that Tina was still there.

He stood next to her, leaning on the rail, and both were silent for several minutes.

"Kaoru…" she began. He gently stopped her.

"I'm not angry with you, Tina." Anymore, he silently added. "What happened this morning…I didn't see that coming, either. I should have, but I didn't."

"Kaoru…good God…" she whispered. Tina had once thought she had at least some idea of what Kaoru and Miss Aoi were going through, but she realized now that even after this morning, she probably still didn't have a clue how bad it was going to get.

Wordlessly, she turned to Kaoru and offered him her embrace. He accepted it gratefully, letting her comfort him. "Aoi-chan and I will be okay, Tina," he assured her, patting her back. "One way or the other, we'll be alright."

-

Aoi heard the door open behind her, and the sounds of clothing being removed. "Are they alright?" she asked.

"They will be," Kaoru replied quietly as he stepped around to the other side of the futon and slid in next to her. "But it's going to take time."

"Please tell them I am sorry."

"You and your apologies," he rebuked gently, poking her in the chest. "You didn't wet yourself on purpose, Aoi-chan."

"That is not the point," she insisted, looking him right in the eyes. "It was a hard thing for them for them to see, Kaoru-sama."

"They'll get over it," he answered, stroking her back.

Perhaps they would at that, Aoi reflected. "Kaoru-sama?" she asked, the feel of his hand on the small of her back giving her a rather sudden impulse. "Do you want to…try again?"

"Are you sure?" he asked, just like he had last night. But this time, she noticed, he voiced the question in a different tone. There was no surprise in his voice, and his expression was a little more eager, not so nervous.

_He wants me, _she realized. Aoi could hardly contain her happiness at the thought. It was just one of many questions that had been bothering her ever since the crash. Despite the show of confidence she had given everyone, inside she had been terrified; scared that she would not even be of any use to Kaoru-sama at all, let alone be able to fulfill his masculine needs. The humiliating incident at the breakfast table this morning certainly hadn't helped things. And she knew that although their lovemaking last night had been pretty good for her—emotionally, at least—it must have been an unbridled catastrophe for him.

But now, seeing the unmistakable look of arousal in her husband's eyes gave her such a sense of peace about the whole thing that she did not hesitate. She turned off the light, and shamelessly drew him against her.

"Whoa," Kaoru laughed, snaking an arm around her to support her limp legs. "Easy, now." With some inherent difficulty, they helped each other out of their clothing. Keeping an arm about her legs, he lifted a hand to touch her breast. His eyes widened a little when he heard her sigh and saw goose bumps travel up her arms.

"You like that," he observed, surprised.

"Yes," she admitted, relaxing as he repeated the caress. "It's not arousing, exactly, but it does feel nice." She giggled softly, and added, "kind of like a massage."

At that moment, Kaoru made up his mind to suppress any feelings of shame or inhibition. This woman was his _wife_, and she wanted him to make love to her, as a husband and wife should, regardless of any obstacles.

Keeping her legs supported, he focused his attention on her upper body as they shared a long series of deep, throaty kisses. Her hand dipped beneath the covers and, remembering Miss Miyabi's advice, he pushed down a twinge of guilt at the sensation and let her pleasure him.

When he finally laid Aoi-chan on her back and entered her, he was as gentle as he could be, planting soft kisses on her neck and face, making absolutely certain that the emotions he evoked in her were more than enough to replace the loss of physical sensation.

Afterwards, watching her as she slept, Kaoru decided that if there was any doubt before, it was vanquished now; he was indeed the luckiest man on the planet. Mortifying though his morning had been, he knew that in that cold bathroom, grappling with the consequences of this whole tragedy, he and Aoi-chan had discovered a form of intimacy too strong to describe, even deeper than sex.

It had only been words to him before, but now it was full-blown, heart-felt knowledge: they were going to be okay.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four Chapter Four

"I see…yes. Thank you." Miyabi hung up the phone and turned to the young couple in front of her desk. "That settles it then," she said to them. "Your first appointment with Doctor Kawamoto is tomorrow at twelve-fifteen, Lady Aoi. How have your exercises been going?"

"She's been doing great," Kaoru reported. According to the doctors, someone would have to perform range-of-motion exercises with Aoi-chan's legs at least twice a day from now on, to keep her muscles from wasting away. "She finished her routine in record time today."

Although he was trying to hide it, Miyabi could not help but notice a tiny smirk at the corners of his lips. Although she did not approve of mixing business with pleasure, she decided not to reprimand Kaoru for the waste of time. After all, they _were_ married, and finding the time and place for intimacy had been difficult enough for them during their engagement.

"Very good," she said with a nod. "Chika-chan and Tina-san should be almost finished preparing breakfast now. You should go wash up, Lady Aoi. Sir Kaoru? A moment, please?"

Kaoru turned to Miss Miyabi when Aoi-chan was gone. "Ma'am?"

She handed him something that looked like a letter. "Bad news, I'm afraid. I wanted to let you break it to Lady Aoi yourself."

"What is it?" he asked, scanning the letter.

Miyabi sighed. "The Sakurabas have received the insurance check from their claim for Lady Aoi's injuries. Unfortunately, it seems they have decided to withhold the lion's share of it for…unspecified reasons."

"'Unspecified,' huh? I'll bet," Kaoru muttered. The reason was perfectly obvious. Kenji Sakuraba had been forced to legally accept Kaoru's engagement to his daughter, but had made his feelings on the matter crystal clear. Although Kaoru was endlessly grateful for the acceptance, he had no doubt that Aoi-chan's parents would jump at the chance to get even with their rebellious progeny. But because, on their own honor, they could not afford to simply leave their own daughter crippled, they had to send something. The paltry sum stated on the letter in Kaoru's hand was enough to cover perhaps a day or two of physical therapy, and that was only _if _the doctors determined that she would ever walk again.

He crumpled the paper in his hand angrily, fought the urge to throw it across the room.

"Sir Kaoru…" Miss Miyabi began.

"Why, Miss Miyabi?" Kaoru demanded. "So he doesn't like me. I can get over that. But Aoi-chan is his _daughter! _To abandon her like that, just to get at me? It's unbelievable. It's _sick!_"

"I agree," she said quietly, hoping that ignoring his temper would force him to tone it down. "But there is nothing we can do about it. After all, it is technically their money. But I have a policy of my own on Lady Aoi. I filed yesterday, so it should be in soon. And with your job, all of the medical bills should be paid off in less than a year."

"It shouldn't have to take that long," he said quietly, the frustration still edging his voice.

..

"I don't understand, Kaoru-sama. Why would my father do something like this?"

"I don't know," he admitted, not wanting to tell her his theory. He looked out through the window of their bedroom, his back toward her. "But we'll have to find out. We need that money."

"You mean to talk to him, then."

He turned to her and shook his head. "You'll have to do it. Obviously, I'm going with you, but there's no point in my saying anything. He hates my guts."

"That is _not_ true."

Her stern rebuke surprised them both: she had _never _snapped at Kaoru-sama before.

"Forgive me," she apologized instantly. "I did not mean to be cross with you. But he is my father, Kaoru-sama. He is stern, yes, but he is fair also. It is not in his heart to hate anyone. He is…very protective. That's all."

Kaoru bent down and kissed the top of her head, his way of showing affection now, since he couldn't embrace her. "You're right, Aoi-chan. I'm sorry." He quickly began pacing the room, and tripped over the futon. She sniggered at the site of him rubbing his sore rump. He laughed too, and realized that they both needed it.

"I guess I'm just frustrated," he said, sitting on the futon, arms around his knees. "I want the best for you, Aoi-chan. I know your father does, too, but I guess we just have different ideas about what that is."

"No, you don't." She lifted her arms slightly, signaling that she wished to out of the chair for a while.

He lifted her down, and returned to the futon. He held her against him, enjoying her warmth, and the feel of her clothing.

"You both want the same things for me," she explained, leaning her head on his shoulder. "But you differ about how to go about getting those things. You want to give me those things through closeness and intimacy, the way a husband should. Father tries to do it with kind words and providing for my needs, the way a _father_ should."

She drew back and looked into his eyes. _She's always had the most beautiful eyes, _he thought. "You are both good men," she said, and returned her head to his shoulder. "The two most wonderful men in my life."

With the last four words, her voice started to trail off, and Kaoru realized he would be here for an hour or two. But he didn't mind. He gently laid her down on her side on the futon, and watched her sleep.

..

The drive out to the Sakuraba Estate was uneventful. Tina was an excellent driver, considering she had gotten her license only about two months ago.

"See you guys later," she called, waving at them as Kaoru and Miyabi helped Aoi out of the car and into her chair.

Tina rode off in a cloud of dust, and Miyabi quickly went inside the house, leaving the couple to be alone.

"It never changes," Aoi said with a happy sigh, rolling alongside Kaoru. "It's so beautiful here."

The old dirt road wound off into the distance, speckled with sunlight and shadow from the green canopy overhead. Birds and chipmunks flittered about, and the peaceful background noises of nature surrounded them.

"It sure is," Kaoru agreed. He said nothing more.

"Kaoru-sama? Is something wrong? You look nervous," she observed.

"I am nervous. You know, the last time we were here, it didn't go so well."

"I disagree. I know there was a lot of tension between you and my father, and there still is. But he saw your point of view in the end, even though he may not have liked it. Whatever your disagreements, I think he respects you. Look!" she suddenly pointed.

They had come to a familiar spot. Beside the path was an old cherry tree with writing engraved into it. A flood of memories came to Kaoru

He and Aoi-chan had carved those initials into this tree when they were too young to know what love was, let alone have any interest in the opposite sex.

"It's almost like we were fated, even back then," he muttered, almost to himself, running a hand over the carved wood. "Do you have it?" he asked.

"Mmm hmm." She drew the silver key from the pocket of her kimono, and handed it to him.

"That is what this day will be like, Kaoru-sama. Not like our last visit, but the one before that, almost twenty years ago."

He could only hope she was right.

..

"Kaoru-san."

"Sakuraba-san," Kaoru greeted, bowing deeply at the waist.

"And my dear daughter," he greeted Aoi. She rolled forward and embraced him around the waist. "What has happened to you is…an injustice beyond words."

Kaoru blinked, confused. Injustice? _It was an accident, _he thought. _What's going on here?_

"I trust things are well, aside from this?" Kenji Sakuraba asked Miyabi.

"They are, sir," Miyabi said with a sharp bow.

"Excellent. Please sit," Sakuraba-san invited. Kaoru knelt before the table under the family emblem, and his father-in-law began their meeting. "I know the reason for your visit."

I bet you do, Kaoru thought sourly. "Sir?"

"I will not grant your request. But I think you will not resent me when I tell you why."

From his kimono, he drew a sheaf of papers and handed them to Kaoru.

"Who the heck is Shiro Katanaze? Let's see, legal fees." Kaoru read, scratching his head. "You're suing him? But it was an accident," he protested. "I'm sure the guy didn't do it on pur—

"Read further," Sakuraba-san commanded.

Kaoru glanced further down the page. A single word jumped out at him.

His blood seemed to freeze and boil at the same time. _I'll kill him. I swear I'll kill the bastard with my bare hands._

"Intoxicated," he read. "You're telling me the man was _drunk?_"

Sakuraba-san nodded. "Do you still wish for the rest of the insurance money?" he asked rhetorically.

"Money?" Kaoru practically shouted, trying not to stutter with rage. "I want this guy's head!"

"Sir Kaoru!" Miyabi rebuked. Sakuraba-san gently waved her to silence. "As do I," he replied evenly to Kaoru. "But murder would do no good for any of us. Justice will be done upon him, I assure you."

He stood, and Kaoru and Miyabi followed suit. "I take it you understand my reasons now?" He held out a hand. "I may not have approved of your marriage to my daughter, Kaoru-san. I am still not certain that I do. But that decision was never in my hands: Aoi's happiness comes first. You and I may not see things the same way, but I ask you to stand with me this time."

"You bet." Kaoru shook the man's hand.

..

"No way!" Tina breathed, keeping her eyes on the road. "Are you serious, Kaoru? Any jury with half a brain would burn that sucker at the steak!"

"Only if they get to him first," Kaoru muttered darkly.

"Do not say such things!" Miyabi snapped from the back seat. "There will be a hearing first, and most likely a trial. In that event, I will of course testify, and I expect each of you to do the same."

"But what should we say?" Aoi asked. "I was unconscious for most of that night. I remember very little."

"You need not say anything on your own," Miyabi advised. "The attorneys will do most of the talking. All you have to do is answer their questions as honestly as you can. But," she added more forcefully, "all of you, please be very careful what you say in the mean time, especially in public. Let there be no mistake, I want as much as the rest of you to see that man in prison until he is far too old to drive again. But anything derogatory, or any threats or talk of revenge could work against us if it got out."

..

The others had already gone to bed. Kaoru, unable to sleep, had changed Aoi-chan's diaper, and shared a few close moments with her, before helping her into bed.

He stood on the walkway, looking up at the stars. _A drunk driver, _he thought, feeling his blood get hot again. _How could anyone be so irresponsible?_

He wondered if Katanaze-san even knew what he had done. _Of course he does. He may not know that he left a woman paralyzed, and could have killed her, but he knows he made the choice to tie one on, and that others would have to live with the consequences of that choice._

He heard footsteps, and turned toward the house. "Taeko-chan?" he asked when he saw the moonlight reflecting off her glasses. "What are you doing out here?"

She emerged from the shadows, and walked over to stand next to him. "Miss Manager"—they were all so used to the old cover story by now that it was difficult to break the habit, now that they new the truth—"sent me to help Miss Aoi—oh," she realized. "I supposed you've…already taken care of it."

He laughed. "Yeah, I did. She's my wife, Taeko-chan, it's no big deal."

"Of course," she said shyly. "Tina-sempai told me what happened this morning. Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright," he admitted. "I'm furious." He shook his head. "I'll never forgive him, Taeko-chan. I _can't._"

Taeko did not respond for a moment. She just stood next to him, deep in thought. She tried to understand the emotions he must be feeling. _Of course he's angry. If I were married, and some drunk person hurt my husband, I don't think I could hold it in, either._

"When I was a child," she began, "there was this thing that happened. I was on the playground, at school. There was a little boy, and a little girl. They were arguing. I can't remember what it was about, or if I ever even knew." She stiffened a little. "And then he _hit _her, Sempai. He didn't just hit her in the shoulder, or slap the side of her head. He _punched _her. In the face.

"I was so angry that I cried. I wanted to hurt him. I thought he was a coward for hurting that little girl. But I didn't have to hit him. Three other boys did. They saw what he had done, and they all jumped on him at once, and beat him up.

A whole group of teachers broke up the fight. I don't know what ever happened to that boy, but I didn't see him again after that. Maybe he was expelled, or sent to the hospital. But do you know something? You would think I was glad he got beat up, but I wasn't. I was horrified. Those boys hurt him ten times worse than he hurt that girl. Maybe he deserved it, but that didn't give them the right. And I realized that it didn't give me the right, either."

Kaoru stuffed his hands in his pockets, and continued staring at the night sky. "I guess it kind of eats you up inside, doesn't it?"

She nodded. "It does worse than that. You end up taking it out on other people, sometimes people who haven't done anything wrong to you."

He instantly realized what she was getting at. "But I'm not him, Taeko-chan," he defended himself. "If he had left me paralyzed, maybe I could forgive him. But not Aoi-chan. Not my wife." His voice started to shake. "Barely a week after our wedding. Forget medical bills, court fees, that stupid chair. I could have been burying her right now.

I would never hurt anyone, not on purpose, or by being stupid. But I hope that son of a bitch rots in jail for the rest of his worthless life."

Taeko shook her head, disappointed that she had not quite gotten through to him. "Well, I think he will be there for a long time, at least." She turned to go. "Good night, sempai."

"Taeko-chan?"

She stopped, turned to him. "Hmmm."

"That little girl? That was you, wasn't it?"

"No, sempai, it wasn't." With that, she turned again, and walked back toward the house.

..

"We have a good report," Doctor Kawamoto said, smiling. He laid the clipboard on his desk and looked at Aoi and Kaoru proudly. "Your labs are all excellent, and the magnetic resonance scans show no further damage. The CT-scan did show some swelling around the lower spinal area, but that is to be expected. I can prescribe a lasic to keep it down."

"You said something the night of the accident," Kaoru recalled, sitting up a little straighter in his chair. "About some sort of procedure." He took a deep breath, and asked the Big Question. "Did you mean might she might be able to walk again?"

"That is my goal," Kawamoto affirmed. He raised a hand before Kaoru could say more. "But please understand, both of you, that I can make no promises. There are…issues with this surgery. It is quite new, and it has only worked on two patients so far."

Kaoru decided not to ask what had become of the patients it hadn't worked on, or how on Earth he was going to pay for it.

"What sort of issues are there?" Aoi asked. She turned to her husband. "If it means I could be cured, Kaoru-sama…"

"We don't know that yet, Aoi-chan" he reminded her gently. "Let him finish."

"Thank you, Hanabishi-san. The good news, Mrs. Hanabishi, is that you are a candidate for the procedure. Now then, let me explain what we would do…"

..

"I will do it," she told him resolutely. The doctor had left them alone for a while, to discuss their situation.

Kaoru's heart sank. He just didn't know what to think of this. From what Doctor Kawamoto had said, this operation didn't sound like a risk: it sounded like a death sentence. _It's either let her stay crippled for the rest of her life, _he thought, _or risk losing her entirely. _

"You could die," he pleaded.

"I know."

She looked away from him, out the window behind the doctor's desk.

"I have been your wife for less than three weeks, Kaoru-sama. But we have loved each other for more than twenty years. I know it is selfish of me, but please. I ask you for this chance." She turned her chair to face him. "That morning a few days ago, when I…" She couldn't even bring herself to say it. "The looks on their faces, Kaoru-sama," she whispered through the tears on her cheeks. "I don't want to see them go through that again. I could not bear it."

Kaoru was close to tears himself now. He stood and went to her, held her face in his hands. He couldn't believe the depths of humility in those eyes. "You don't have to _ask_ me, Aoi-chan. I _love _you. This is _your _body, and you have the right to make this decision." He pulled her head to his chest. "If this is really what you want, then we'll find a way."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Kaoru shook his head, musing. _Look at all this paperwork. Now I know how Miss Miyabi feels._

He, Aoi-chan, and Miyabi sat at the dining room table, looking over his finances. He had never realized what a mess even a well-organized financial situation could be.

The good news was that the money was trickling in. Miss Miyabi's insurance agents had balked at first, and she had to threaten them with the Sakuraba family's dreaded lawyers (which cost almost as much as the policy's payoff) before they finally paid up. Kaoru's people, on the other hand, had done an excellent job; the check was in his hand barely three days after he had filed. He had several times brought up the idea of Miss Miyabi switching companies, but it seemed she preferred for things to stay the same, rather than taking the slightest chance that they might get worse.

"So, what do you think?" he asked Miss Miyabi.

Miyabi was silent for a moment, considering. She wanted to help him, but honestly…

"It's your money, Sir Kaoru," she reminded him. "I do not mean to be unhelpful, but I think the decision is best left in your hands."

Aoi leaned over and pointed out something in the ledger. "This account here has almost enough to cover the first hospital bill."

Kaoru felt a pang of disappointment when he saw where she was pointing. "Our nest egg?" he protested. "We would have to clean it out. I've been saving that so we can get a place of our own, Aoi-chan."

"But we've been happy here," Aoi countered. "We will still be able to buy a house. It will just take a few more years. Besides, we would have almost all of the bill paid off now, instead of letting it build up."

"She has a point, Sir Kaoru," Miss Miyabi added. "It would be a painful move, but a wise one, I think."

_They're right, _Kaoru thought, trying to rearrange his attitude. _We'll make the money back in a year or two. Aoi-chan is worth every yen and more._

"Would you pass me my checkbook, Aoi-chan?"

* * *

The lobby outside the courtroom wasn't as packed as they thought it would be; this town did not have much of a crime rate. Aoi reached up and straightened Kaoru's tie. "Try not to be so nervous," she assured him as he fiddled with the band of his watch for the millionth time. "You will not need to say very much, and if you don't know the answer to one of the attorneys' questions, you can simply say so." With that, she shot him that famous grin of hers.

Kaoru had to admit that it was hard to be stressed around Aoi-chan (unless, of course, it was for her sake), but these lawyers and judges had way too much power for his comfort.

"I just don't want to say anything wrong," he tried to explain to Aoi-chan. "One bad move could blow this whole thing. I could never sleep knowing that bastard is out there, free as a bird."

"Speak of the devil," Miyabi announced, discreetly gesturing toward the door of the lobby, where a young man was entering. He was tall and lean, with long, straight hair and and a pockmarked face.

Kaoru recognized Shiro Katanaze from the night of the accident. His blood started to heat up at the sight of the man, surrounded by his retinue of "Dream-Team" lawyers, all looking as smug as if they had already won.

He felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. "Easy, Kaoru," Tina whispered, seeing his clenched fist. "Let the law do it."

Kaoru resolved that he would follow Tina's advice, and give justice a chance. _And if they waste that chance, I'll be glad to fill in for them._

"It is time," Miyabi said curtly. "Let's go."

* * *

"I spent most of the night unconscious," Aoi recounted to the dour-faced judge, staring down at the polished table. "I am afraid all I can recall are bright lights and loud noises. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital. The doctors told me…they told me that…but, I couldn't feel my legs," she started to stutter, trying to hold back tears.

"Your Honor, I object," one of Katanaze-san's lawyers said, rolling his eyes. "It's clear already that Mrs. Hanabishi was injured. This play for sympathy is entirely unnecessary."

"Sustained," the judge said wearily, striking the pause button on the tape recorder. "But do adjust your attitude, Dr. Matoko. People have feelings." He turned to Aoi, and released the button on the recorder. "Please continue, Mrs. Hanabishi."

* * *

"I received a phone call at exactly eleven-thirty that evening," Miyabi told the same judge an hour later. "When I reached the hospital, Sir Kao—er, Hanabishi-san was obviously quite distraught. He had a row of sutures above his left eye, so I assume he sustained minor injuries in the crash as well-"

"Excuse me, your honor," another lawyer interrupted. "I'm sorry, Ms...?" he prompted.

"Kagurazaki," Miyabi replied tightly.

"Ms. Kagurazaki. Did you say you got the call at _exactly _eleven thirty?"

"I believe those were my words," Miyabi responded in what she believed to be an equally condescending tone. "But I fail to see how a few minutes either way-"

"Oh, come now, Ms. Kagurazaki," the man waved dismissively. "We are on record here. Approximations are fine, so long as you make it clear that..."

"Your honor?" Miyabi asked, gesturing at the lawyer plaintively.

"Sustained. This is a deposition preparatory to a civil case, Mister Yahama, not a trial. We are not here to quibble over meanings."

"My apologies, your honor, I'll move on. Now, then, Ms. Kagurazaki, I believe you said..."

* * *

"And you are certain Mister Hanabishi's vehicle did not cross the line?"

"Damn sk—uh, excuse me, your honor," Tina caught herself. "Yes sir. I was a few feet behind him, and he was on my side of the line, no doubt about it!"

"How long have you been driving, Miss Foster?"

"And just what the heck is that supposed to mean?" she snapped, starting to lean across the table. _Now what made him ask that?_

"Just answer the question, please."

She returned to her seat and folded her arms. "Three months," she admitted begrudgingly. "I got my permit early in January, and my license a month after that. So what?"

"Three months? Well, that is most impressive, Miss Foster," the lawyer chuckled. "Especially considering that according to Ms. Kagurazaki's testimony, Mister Hanabishi has..." he consulted some documentation on the table "...a year and a half of experience on the road, and _still _had an accident_."_

"So it can happen to anybody," Tina shot back. "Big stinkin' deal."

"Miss Foster," the judge warned, "this is a court of law. I must insist that you show a little respect."

"Thank you, your honor," her interrogator continued blandly. "I think the point, Miss Foster, is that your qualifications as a driver, or rather the lack thereof, call your testimony into question." He drew a photograph from his briefcase and passed it to the judge. "Your honor, the defense offers exhibit one..."

Tina decided against telling that lawyer where he could put his qualifications.

* * *

Kaoru sat on the oaken bench outside the courtroom, awaiting his turn for grilling at the hands of Katanaze-san's attorneys. His thoughts bounced back and forth between worrying about defeat—particularly the fear that it might be his own fault—and what to do with a possible victory.

He though it unlikely that the Sakurabas would lose the suit, with all the money and clout at the conglomerate's disposal. But Kaoru hadn't expected his wife to be crippled by a drunk driver either. If that guy and his bastard lawyers managed to pull something off, their victory would dash any hope of Aoi-chan walking for at least a good twenty years.

And if the case was upheld? Kaoru had no doubt that Sakuraba-san had sued for enough money to cover the entire family's expenses, let alone Aoi-chan's medical debts, but if Katanaze-san simply couldn't or wouldn't pay? Seeing the idiot go to prison would be satisfying, but it would not get Aoi-chan out of that wheelchair.

"Hanabishi-san?" a voice broke into his thoughts.

Kaoru looked up, and blinked. He couldn't have been more surprised if Buddha had been standing there.

"What do you want?" he said coldly.

"Oh, I don't suppose it really matters what I want," Shiro Katanaze said. He took a seat on the bench next to Kaoru. "My lawyers don't know I'm out here. They had to talk me into fighting this out, you know," he said, shaking his head. "I had hoped to make amends with you myself. But Matoko-san, and Yahama-san, they are businessmen at heart. They could probably talk a man into shooting his own toe off. Lawyers," he snorted. "Shakespeare was right about them."

Silence reigned for about five seconds. "It was a bachelor party," Katanaze continued. "A friend of mine, he is to be married in a week, you see. No one has parties like that without liquor. Quality sake is something I have always had a taste for, but I am only a social drinker. I never thought that...I didn't even feel dizzy. So I decided to drive home." He turned his gaze from the windows to the floor. "Hanabishi-san, I can offer no defense for what I have done, and I cannot begin to imagine the pain that my misjudgment has caused you and your family. But perhaps I can make it available to you to undo some of the damage." He drew a pen and something leather from his pocket. "How much does-"

A hand reached out and sent the pen clattering to the floor, the unmarked check fluttering down next to it. Kaoru stood and glared down at the other man. "Don't give me your excuses," he growled. "My wife nearly paid for your foolishness with her life. And you have the nerve to ask _me _to put a _price _on her?" He turned his back on Katanaze. "Get away from me, and take your damned checkbook with you."

Katanaze calmly retrieved his belongings from the floor. "Very well," he said quietly, adding a sharp bow. "I am certain things will go your way in any event. Good day, Hanabishi-san."

* * *

"Mister Katanaze, it seems that you and Mister Sakuraba have placed the court in an awkward position," the judged informed them, when all parties were gathered before the bench. "Due to the fact that your blood alcohol level was below the legal limit by a minuscule, and obviously meaningless"-he indicated Aoi-"amount, the police have elected not to press felony DUI charges. They have, however, charged you with the accident. This means that your insurance will be billed for all of Mister Hanabishi's costs relating to the loss of his vehicle, and for Mister Sakuraba's court costs."

"A mere slap on the wrist?" Aoi's father objected, with a wave of his arm toward the defendant and his attorneys. "Your Honor, this man-"

"Please let me finish, Mister Sakuraba." The judge turned back to Katanaze-san. "Young man, your actions were unconscionable," he said sternly. "And let it be known that whatever it takes," he shook his gavel at Katanaze, "I will see to it that you make full restitution, civil _and _criminal, to this young lady and her family."

He looked down at his bench and sighed. "However, I think that if Mrs. Hanabishi were healed, only for you to go out and hurt someone else, then little good would come of this mess. The court would be willing to hear, and in fact encourages, Mister Sakuraba himself to pursue criminal proceedings, with the goal of ensuring that Mister Katanaze spends time behind bars. Accordingly," he banged his gavel, "it is the judgment of this court that Mister Sakuraba's civil case be postponed, pending the actual filing of charges."

Kaoru's heart sunk into his shoes as the magnitude of his folly dawned on him. If he had taken the money Katanaze-san had offered him...

"Next case," the judge called.


	6. Chapter 6

_This will not be the final chapter, as I had thought. Writing goes like that...sometimes it flows like a river, and wants to chart its own course. Other times, inspiration just stops._

_Sorry this took so long, but I'm a very slow writer—just ask anyone who reviewed my story "Yugi's Gift" over in the Tenchi Muyo fandom. That story suffered from years of inactivity, and as you can see this story is suffering the same fate. But I can promise you that it WILL be finished, even if I can't say when..._

_Anyway, I hope my readers will find the end of this chapter worth the wait._

Chapter Six

Aoi opened her eyes to darkness, wondering what had woken her. She looked around the familiar room and, seeing nothing unusual or out of place, she realized the answer: the room was completely silent. Kaoru-sama's light snoring usually generated the background noise she needed to sleep.

Struggling against her useless legs, she levered herself up in the futon and glanced over his shoulder; the alarm clock read shortly after three in the morning. "Kaoru-sama?" she whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you awake?"

"For about the last twenty minutes," he answered softly, turning over on his back. He yawned. "But I'm starting to get drowsy again." He reached over and squeezed her shoulder gently. "Go back to sleep, Aoi-chan. I'll be okay."

Aoi believed that like she believed a flock of dragons would soon fly through their bedroom window. "Kaoru-sama, you have not slept a wink, have you?" she objected. "I must do something to help you. Here, please help me up." She held out a hand to him.

Reluctantly, Kaoru turned to his wife and gently maneuvered her into a sitting position. "Please turn around," she instructed.

He turned his back to her, and she lifted off his gray tank-top. Even in the dark, the ugly puckered scars stood out like snakes. She let her fingers trace over them briefly, before running her hands up his back. Sliding her palms up over his shoulders, she squeezed lightly, massaging the tension from him. The knotted muscles felt like iron under his skin. "It's what happened at the deposition, isn't it?" she probed. "I do not often ask you for things, Kaoru-sama, but please let this go," she asked, continuing to rub his shoulders. "You are making yourself so tense that you cannot even sleep. I forgive that man, and you should, too. He will still be punished for what he did. It will just take longer."

"I've tried to let it go, Aoi-chan. It's just...it isn't about..." he stammered. "Never mind." He turned to her and took her hands. "Thanks, Aoi-chan." He leaned in and kissed her softly, then took her hands. "I'll be alright. Let's get some sleep now. I imagine we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."

SSS

Aoi-chan's light massage and counseling helped Kaoru manage another four hours of sleep. The first slice of gold light was peeping over the window sill of the bedroom when the door opened and something brown flew in. "Big Brother!"

"Oohhff!" Kaoru grunted as fifty kilos of vivacious teenager dropped onto his chest. "Big Brother, come see it!" Chika-chan insisted, tugging on his shoulders. "You have to come see!"

"All right, all right, Chika-chan," Kaoru muttered as he gently lifted the girl off him. He sat up and stretched. "What is it?"

"Miss Chika!" Aoi's voice came from next to him as she roused herself. "What are you doing in here?"

"You'll have to come see for yourself!" Chika teased, giggling her way out of the bedroom. "It's outside!" She called from the hallway.

"My, Miss Chika certainly is lively," Aoi observed in the bland tone she always used to conceal a state of shock.

"She's just really outgoing," Kaoru dismissed as he fetched her kimono and underwear from the rack by the door. "She'll settle down in a year or two." He helped Aoi-chan into a sitting position, and quickly dressed her. As he lifted her into her wheelchair, he decided that he would talk to them separately about this. Certainly no one in the house had any reason to question Chika's intentions, but at the age of fourteen, she was getting a bit big to be bouncing on Kaoru's knee, let alone sitting atop him in her nightdress.

As he was rolling Aoi-chan down the walkway toward the house, he noticed the flash of light reflecting from a window as a vehicle came up the driveway. Odd, he thought. Who would be pulling up to the house at this time of the morning?

When Kaoru opened the back door, he was greeted with a slender hand in his face. "Hold, it right there, soldier," a Texas drawl instructed him.

"Miss Tina?" Aoi-chan was the first to ask. "What is this all about?"

Kaoru rolled his eyes. "What are you up to now, Tina?" He sighed as Tina pulled two long pieces of black cloth from her pockets.

"You two are prisoners of war," she said in an overly serious tone, and gave them both a wink as she tied the blindfolds around their heads. "Can't have you looking around at our territory, can we?" she laughed. "Alrighty then, march!"

She guided them slowly through the house, and after a moment Kaoru felt fresh air again. He blinked as Tina removed his blindfold. "Tada!"

Kaoru's mouth dropped open. He fought back tears of joy.

Taeko-chan, Chika-chan, and Miss Miyabi stood before him with proud grins on their faces. Behind them sat an enormous cherry-red pickup truck.

SSS

"It holds the road pretty well," Kaoru observed, guiding the truck down the narrow dirt road. The little Mazda convertible he had lost in the wreck had placed him barely two feet off the street. Driving this monster felt almost like flying an airplane.

"It is an American model of very high quality," Miss Miyabi explained from the seat next to him. "Not to mention very expensive." Out of the corner of his eye, Kaoru saw her turn to him. "I trust it will last you considerably longer?"

"Aww, go easy on him, Miss Manager!" Tina objected from the rear jump-seat. "He had a pretty girl with him, after all." She nudged Aoi in the side with her elbow. "Ain't that right, Miss Aoi?"

Silence. Tina felt her face redden. "Sorry," she backtracked. "I guess I said the wrong thing."

"Not at all." Aoi demurred with a warm smile. "Aside from a little bad luck, Kaoru-sama had been on a long journey, and was very tired."

"I am certain you did not intend your comment to be offensive, Miss Tina," Miyabi agreed. "Neither did I. I merely meant that..." she trailed off upon glancing in the rear-view mirror. "Miss Tina, are you quite alright? You look as if you don't feel well."

"Well, to tell the truth, I do feel a little queasy," Tina admitted, rubbing her stomach. "It's probably somethin' I ate." She scowled. "I knew we shouldn't have let Tae make breakfast this morning!"

"Well, then you might want to wait until dinner," Kaoru laughed. With room for only five in the truck, and that rather tightly, Taeko and her rambunctious cousin had volunteered to stay behind and cook lunch while the others accompanied Kaoru on his test drive. He halfway wondered if there would be a house to go back to.

SSS

Just please, Kaoru prayed silently outside Miyabi's office door, don't let her see it on my face. If I can only tell her myself, in just the right way...

Well, no sense hesitating any further. He tapped his knuckles on the heavy wood.

"Yes, come in...ah, Sir Kaoru, just the person I need to see. Please, be seated." Miyabi removed her reading glasses and pushed her keyboard aside. "It seems Lady Aoi is faring well."

"She hasn't gotten any worse," Kaoru semi-agreed as he settled into the chair. "I wasn't all that crazy about her riding with us this morning, but she seemed to handle it pretty well.

"She did indeed," Miyabi nodded. "Now then, I need to ask you something. I don't suppose you noticed anything odd at the deposition yesterday?"

Oh, God, Kaoru thought. She's seen it. She's going to kill me. "Other than the fact that we lost, even though we had everything going for us?" he replied wryly. "Not really."

"We did not 'lose'", Miyabi corrected, leaning back in her chair. "Judge Sasaki decided to dismiss the suit in favor of a trial. I was upset at first as well, but in retrospect, I have found that I agree with his decision. Katanaze-san is a spoiled brat from a wealthy family; I am certain the judge is gambling that prison time will teach him a far more effective lesson than financial punishment."

"He's not a brat."

This got Kaoru the pause he was seeking, along with an uncomprehending stare. He concluded that the door to his doom was open, and decided to race ahead. Might as well get this over with, while I have the chance. "He's an irresponsible moron who just happened to have a car, but he's..."

"Sir Kaoru?" Miyabi prompted when he trailed off. She leaned forward across the desk. The expression in her brown eyes was more intense than he had ever seen. "Please explain to me what you are saying."

"He...he tried to settle with me out of court." Kaoru blurted. "He was going to give me a blank check!"

Miyabi's hand went to her mouth. "What have you done?"

"I know it was stupid, Miss Miyabi, but the guy nearly killed Aoi-chan! Do you expect me to let him just buy me off?"

"YES!" Miyabi surged out of her chair. "Your wife is in an unbearable state. Helping you around the house has been her only dream since she was five years old, and now she can't even use the bathroom by herself. Had it not been for your manly pride, we could have been taking her to the hospital to be cured right now!"

Kaoru had always been careful to hold his peace during the more fiery of Miss Miyabi's lectures, but this time he had had enough. "I don't care! I can't do it, Miss Miyabi. I want to earn that money, I have to, and I will, if takes me the rest of-"

"Kaoru-sama? Miss Miyabi?"

The soft voice ended Kaoru's tirade like switching off a lamp.

She had to have been sitting there for at least one minute, certainly long enough to hear him say-

"Aoi-chan, please," he implored. "Come here."

The door softly closed—with Aoi-chan on the other side.

SSS

A storm was brewing to the east. It was cold tonight, and there were no stars.

Aoi-chan might or might not forgive him. The question would burn a hole in his mind until he found out. But whatever she was feeling, in the mean time he would not let her stay out here in the dark, in this weather, even if he had to drag her back to the house, wheelchair and all.

Moonlight glinted off metal at the edge of the woods, and Kaoru broke into a trot.

She was sitting with her back to him, apparently staring at the trees.

"Aoi-chan?" he almost whispered.

"This is new for me," she answered blandly, without turning around. "I have felt many different emotions since I met you, Kaoru-sama. Joy, fear, confusion, love—and yes, sometimes a little frustration. But this..." She choked on the last word, and when she turned around, the expression on her face was new to Kaoru, too. There were times when he had imagined what a really mad Aoi-chan might look like, but he was completely unprepared for the clenched teeth and burning blue eyes, rimmed with tears, that greeted him. It made him feel like he had been kicked in the stomach.

"I have never been angry with you before, Kaoru-sama. I know why you did this. I realize that you did not intend to hurt me. But you...this was not the act of the Kaoru-sama I know. The Kaoru-sama I know is a good person, if he is a little sad and confused sometimes. He makes mistakes, just as I do. He can be clumsy, like Miss Taeko, or brash like Miss Tina. But he is never, ever this thoughtless. He would never say—"

"There's something else new that you're feeling, Aoi-chan," Kaoru interrupted. He paused to see if she would let him finish. "You've never taken any thought for yourself before."

Her face changed subtly, and for one terrified moment, he thought she had taken offense. "You should think of yourself sometimes, Aoi-chan," he rushed on. "I'm seeing a new side of you tonight, too. This Aoi-chan is willing to fight, not just for me, but for herself."

He approached her, and whatever god was up there answered his prayer that she would not back away. He knelt down, so that his eyes met hers. "You ran away from home, defied your parents and"—he almost said broke your back—"busted your hump cooking and cleaning, all for me. A guy who never did anything to deserve any of it.

"I really blew it, Aoi-chan, and I'm ready to accept whatever the consequences might be. Except for one thing." He took her hands, and lowered his gaze to her knees. "I can't lose you, Aoi-chan. You're not just the best thing in my life; you're the only good thing in my life."

He felt a hand under his chin, and found himself looking up into the clear blue eyes he knew so well, still glassy from crying. "You will not lose me," she assured him. "I swore from the first day I met you that I would never leave your side. But that other Kaoru-sama, the one who left me this way because of his bitterness; that Kaoru-sama never had me to begin with. He is not the man I married, and I do not want to see him again. To do so would be unfaithful to my husband."

The quiet of the night was interrupted by a peal of thunder in the distance, and Kaoru flinched as the first cold drops of rain fell on his arm.

"Hurry!" Aoi-chan told him. He grabbed the handles of her chair, and ten seconds later, they were inside the back door, soaking wet and splitting with laughter. Kaoru knelt down and embraced his wife. "I love you, Aoi-chan."

She drew back, and as his face descended toward hers, she placed a hand on his chest. "No," she whispered, turning her face toward her lap. "I will sleep in Miss Miyabi's room tonight. You have much to think about, Kaoru-sama. I don't wish to distract you."

He just stood and watched as she wheeled herself away.

SSS

It was no longer, Miyabi told herself as she pounded away at her keyboard, merely a matter of money. Judge Sasaki was right: justice was now the goal. Miyabi would have gladly admitted to being a vengeful person. She knew this was an aspect of her personality that others disapproved of, but she refused to apologize for it. After all, as long as it wasn't taken too far, vindictiveness had certain practical uses.

Her haranguing of Kaoru was not over his attitude toward Katanaze—indeed, she secretly approved of his having shown some spine for once. But the missed opportunity and it's consequences infuriated her. If that boy could only learn to control his anger...use it to his advantage...

She typed the final line of the report she had been working on for days, took a breath, and was about to click on Save when the phone rang.

"Sakuraba residence," she greeted quietly. "This is she...I'm sorry, who's calling?...I see. You should know that this has caused a great deal of trouble..." The man on the other end interrupted, and spent five minutes explaining what he wanted. What he said left her agog. Her eyes got wider and wider as she listened to him.

It took her a few seconds to find the words when he finished. "Sir...really, you needn't do that. I am humbled by your generosity, but...I see then. Yes sir, if you insist! Again, you have my most sincere gratitude!"

SSS

No Aoi-chan. It felt like the old days, Kaoru reflected as he lay quietly on his futon. Aoi-chan in the house, and he in the guest house, forbidden to enter the mansion on pain of a lecture from Miss Miyabi and a firm escort out the door.

That Aoi-chan had forgiven him was one thing. She was always quick to forgive, and even blame herself for wrongs done to her. But she was letting him sweat this one a little. For her to take such a middle-of-the-road approach was, he felt, a pretty big indication of how much he had hurt her.

But it was no use thinking about that anymore—what was done was done. The most he could do was get some rest, and hope that she would be back with him tomorrow night. He reached up and switched off the light

But the room did not go dark. He had no sooner tugged the string overhead than the door flew open, flooding the room with light from the hallway. In the doorway stood an exultant Miss Miyabi. She was breathing as if she had just run a kilometer or two, but her face was alight with joy.

"Sir Kaoru! Katanaze-san's father has offered to pay for Lady Aoi's surgery!"


End file.
